St Patrick smiles on Danny Boy Whiskey in the US

The success of promotions around the recent St Patrick's Day celebrations for Northern Irish Danny Boy Whiskey in the US has led to significant new business across the country for the Belfast Distillery Company.

Total Beverage Solution (TBS), based at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, which masterminded the sales drive around St Patrick's Day particularly in Irish American centres such as New York, Boston and Philadelphia, has since placed orders likely to exceed £150,000 this year.

TBS gained exclusive US distribution rights to Danny Boy, a premium boutique Irish whiskey, in 2010.

Michael Morris, International Sales Director of the Belfast Distillery Company, which plans to begin distilling whiskey at the historic Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast in November, says: "We've been working on a series of marketing initiatives with the TBS team to develop sales of Danny Boy across the US, a key market for our premium Irish whiskey. TBS has a distribution network covering 28 states and offers us significant scope for growth.

"Danny Boy has been developed to fit the market profile of whiskey enthusiasts in the US. We are not in the volume marketplace. Danny Boy is a premium dark golden brown Irish whiskey with a distinctive flavour that comes from a unique blend of 20 per cent malt and 80 per cent finest grain. Essentially it's aimed at a niche market of people who want to savour the taste of a premium product.

"Danny Boy is also double-distilled with a four-year minimum and matured in American oak casks that infuse a toasty and vanilla aroma for an exceptionally smooth finish. Apart from the US, we've secured new business for the whiskey in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Republic of Ireland and the Baltic region."

Available in 700ml / 750 ml bottles, Danny Boy offers whiskey drinkers notes of soft raisins and Irish caramel with a peppery spice overtone. Six to eight year old malt and a high proportion of eight year old grain are used to produce the premium Irish whiskey.

Danny Boy premium blend was launched in September 2008.

Total Beverage Solution (TBS) supplies the US market with some of the world's top brands. Founded in 2002, the company's strategy is to represent and own brands that have market presence but still have potential for growth.

The Danny Boy range includes a 15-year single malt whiskey and an Irish cream liqueur.